Difference Between Static and Dynamic Websites With Advantages and Disadvantages
When it comes to creating a website, knowing which type of website works best for you may affect how you choose to build it. Most websites can be defined as static or dynamic, with increasing numbers of websites being termed hybrids—meaning they are made up of a mixture of static and dynamic web pages.
Static and dynamic describe the ways in which websites deliver and display content. A static website has stable content, where every user sees the same thing on each individual page. On the other hand, a dynamic website is one where content is pulled on-the-fly, allowing its content to change with the user.
When we say "website," it can refer to two different types of websites: a business website and an individual's personal website. As a business owner or an individual, you just need to know which type of website works best for you, what function you want your site to have, and how you build it. When we surf the internet there are two aspects that regulate communication between users and websites: a browser (client) and a server (server).
In this article, we'll discuss the similarities and differences between static and dynamic websites. We'll review important factors to consider when deciding how to make a website from scratch.
These are regulated by protocols like HTTP, where the browser sends an HTTP request to the server and then receives an HTTP response from the server. On the basis of this response, websites can be defined as static or dynamic. Understanding the differences between static and dynamic websites can be complicated. Let's start Difference Between Static and Dynamic Websites With Advantages and Disadvantages.
What is a static website?
According to the Sequoia IT Services, a Website Design Company in Delhi NCR, a static website consists of a fixed number of web pages created using HTML, CSS and JavaScript with fixed content and structure. These pages are stored as single HTML files that are directly delivered from the server to the web page as it is. Content on a static website won’t change unless the code of the original HTML file is edited. A static website is just simple information that transmits the response to the client without performing any processing. Users see the same content regardless of who they are or how they’re using it—on their computer or mobile device—as long as they have an internet connection.
Advantages of static website
The static website takes less time for building and deployment
A static website is easier to get live quicker than a dynamic site. Static websites are faster to create and publish, since they are less complex and don’t need to be connected to databases of organized content. This is even more true if built on a WYSIWYG platform. All that limits the time to go live with a static site is how creative you want to be with each page design, but static pages tend to be simpler and consequently faster to deploy.
They are secure
Static website pages are not inherently more secure than dynamic ones. This is because they have fewer points of entry for hackers to attack. We will explain: Static pages do not connect with a database or use external extensions and plugins—all of which can be common entry points for attacks. In comparison, dynamic sites are not inherently unsafe, but potential attackers theoretically pose less risk with a static website.
Load faster
Static pages offer a better browsing experience because their content is pre-written and delivered directly from the server. This makes caching easier, resulting in faster loading times and less likely to encounter UX issues such as broken images. In general, static websites require less server power and make up for it with no database or client server infrastructure to run through, which leads them naturally toward faster performance. Because page load speed is a key part of how Google assesses a website's performance (and it seems to be having more significant impact on SEO and ranking performance as well), this ability should not be underestimated.
Take low cost
Easy to restore after a crash.
Disadvantages of static website
Updating a static website is can be challenging
Static websites may be quicker to create, but they can be more time consuming to manage. It's more difficult to make edits to a static website because changes need to be made page by page, and as websites load with more content or rapidly change content, this becomes much more challenging—and in some cases, near impossible—task.
May be slightly outdated
Less user experience
No interaction with clients
Limited Scalability
One of the biggest disadvantages of a static website is that it can be difficult to maintain. Static sites can only handle one type of content and expand in number slowly. For example, if you have a 500-page site that requires dynamic elements like video or embedded media, it will still take hundreds of hours to build the site from scratch.
What is a dynamic website?
Dynamic websites are server-side applications that allow the content of every page to be delivered dynamically. A dynamic website uses a database to store the data and those database records are maintained and changed by the dynamic website according to user behavior. A dynamic website is flexible with content and structure that make a better user experience based on their request. A dynamic website can be created using server-side programming languages like PHP, C#, or Python. These server-side codes are used to build dynamic websites that can generate real-time HTML pages that fulfill the user’s request.
Examples of well-know dynamic websites include:
Instagram: As a social media site, Instagram relies on user-generated content.
CNN: Media outlets use dynamic websites to update their content, either in response to breaking news or as stories age.
Disney Plus: As a large streaming site, this dynamic entertainment website's dynamic nature allows its content to be chosen and displayed according to a user's location, subscription and preferences.
Advantages of Dynamic website
More functional
Static pages can be made interactive, but dynamic pages have boundless functionality—limited only by the complexity of the logic and language needed to build them, and the instructions needed to deliver content.
Netflix is a good example of a very large, complex and sophisticated dynamic website. It has the ability to deliver huge amounts of content to users based on their location and login credentials, and can offer watch recommendations based on past viewing history.
An organized way to store information
User-based content
Easy to update
A dynamic website is the most effective means of keeping online content current. A dynamic website automatically duplicates changes made on one page to other pages without altering the design. This is particularly relevant to sites with a large number of pages, since it makes maintenance more efficient.
One advantage of a dynamic website is that it makes maintenance easier and faster. Multiple users will have access to your database, allowing them to manage the content on the site without touching the structure or design.
Better user experience
A dynamic website provides content that's tailored to the needs of the user. This might mean changing the content on a page to reflect the user's location, interests or past actions on the page.
By customizing what your visitors see and interact with, you can create a better user experience. This capacity for personalization also makes it more likely they’ll return to your site or take further action on it—increasing the potential for conversion.
Disadvantages of Dynamic website
Expensive for creating and maintaining
Because of the extra steps needed to organize and connect your database to the right pages, a dynamic website can be more complicated to set up. It will take more time to go live and may even cost more than a static one.
There are exceptions to this rule: You can use a website builder like Wix to build dynamic pages without having to subscribe to a paid package. The content manager is free for all users of Wix. This means that while traditionally building a dynamic site used to require a larger budget, this is no longer the case depending on where and how you choose to build your dynamic site.
Slow processing
Dynamic websites have more instructions to process than static websites do. They are also connected to a database or content collection and continually pull information from that in order to display it—which takes time to process and execute. Because of this, dynamic sites can perform worse than static sites on slower computers. However, many website creation tools are aware of this issue and make it their mission to prioritize performance across all pages.
When building a dynamic website with Wix, performance concerns are less likely because everything necessary for website performance optimization is integrated into your pages, making your dynamic website as fast and user friendly as a static one.